If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

REMINDER: Per PD policy, please do not share a link to, describe how to search for, request a link to, or request a PM about streaming video of a NBA game that is not coming directly through the NBA. Not even in a "wink-wink, nudge-nudge, know-what-I-mean" round-about sort of way. Thank you

So why is Roy Hibbert having a less than stellar season? Slow offensive start?

HA! That's what they want you to believe.

Tonight we're going to have conclusive evidence of what I consider to be a
systematic sabotaging from within. Keep an eye on Roy Hibbert's offensive and
defensive output tonight. A poor statistical performance combined with allowing
Portland's frontcourt to have their way with the rim will obviously, unquestionably
illustrate once and for all that Roy Hibbert's so-called 'slow start' is really just
Hibbert passive-aggressively lashing out and punishing the Pacers organization
for matching Portland's contract offer last July.

Don't believe me? You can find all the information you need by Googling
"Portland + Rim Job".**

**Maybe don't actually Google that

Or take a look at the stats. No, of course, you won't find the right stats on
NBA.com. They say these stats are "false" or "unsubstantiated" or
"completely, entirely fabricated". Yeah, like that's not the first move by any
organization trying to hide a conspiracy: deny, deny, deny. But a graph exists,
so how can they deny that? Witness this statistical truth:

As you can see, Roy has been systematically allowing points to be scored on
him by teams he wishes he could play for. It couldn't be any clearer than that,
my friends. He's been attempting to make his intentions less obvious by
making sure that at least five sections of the floor are well defended while
leaving a whopping five other areas of the floor shooting above 35.7%.

And if that wasn't enough to blow your mind, take a gander at this:

An insane 90% of Hibbert's pouting has taken place below the blocks. It's not
entirely clear why Hibbert has been pouting less around 17 feet from the
basket. I can only assume it's meant as a diversion. This would explain why
perimeter oriented bigs (titans like Matt Bonner and Troy Murphy) haven't
faired well against Hibbert's suspect performance this year.

Have I connected enough dots for you people? Can't you see what's
going on? Am I the only one who gets it?

Ball Don’t Lie:

Eric Freeman: Damian Lillard is afraid of historic statues

After only a few short months of play, Portland Trail Blazers rookie point guard Damian
Lillard looks capable beyond his years. While his defense still needs work, Lillard has
shown himself to be a dynamic offensive talent and the current frontrunner for Rookie
of the Year honors. He'll be a building block for the Blazers for a long time to come.

He has trouble pinpointing the exact time he fretted seeing
statues and monuments but said the uneasy feeling was palpable
during a visit to a wax museum two summers ago before his
senior season at Weber State.

"The last room was Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Martin Luther
King, Malcolm X, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln — all
these big-time historic people, and it looked just like them. Same
size," he said. "They had music playing in the room to set the
mood, and it just threw me off."

"Ever since then I've done. Even at Lake Oswego (near Portland),
I drive past the cemetery, and there's a statue of ***** with his
hands up. That even scared me. I don't mess with statues no more.

"It's the idea that they're from so far back, and so big in our
history. Just to see something that looks so close to them, it's
weird. It freaks me out."

Driving through D.C. Tuesday night with monuments lit up, "was
crazy. All I could think of was Abraham Lincoln getting killed,"
Lillard said.

I would really like to know which mood-setting music the wax museum played to throw
off Lillard. My guess is that it was not Paul Anka.

Now, it bears mentioning that Lillard is not the only young basketball player to hold on
to childhood fears or habits. LeBron James, for instance, still bites his nails, and everyone
pretty much agrees that he's now an adult winner who really understands what it takes to
be a true professional. Lillard can still succeed despite being scared that the statue at the
Jefferson Memorial will detach itself from its base and start terrorizing the nation for not
upholding...CONTINUE READING AT BALL DON'T LIE

Hang Time Blog:

Fran Blinebury: Blazers Face the Aldridge Question

It’s getting late early in Portland.

Of course, the shadows can’t get much longer and the outlook much bleaker than when
you’ve become the first team all season to lose to the Wizards.

Still, these things happen. If it were a one-game pratfall, it would be easier for the Trail
Blazers to move on up the road and try to work out their frustrations on the soon-to-be-
Rondo-less Celtics.

But the trouble is that 15 games into this season, it is already beginning to look a lot like
last season. And the one before. And the one before.

“Inexcusable,” is the way guard Wesley Matthews described the loss at Washington and
nobody was really sure if he was talking about the way the Blazers shot the ball,
rebounded, defended or got off the bus.

Intolerable for their fans is the knowledge that over the past decade, the Blazers have
done more rebuilding than FEMA and still have little to show for it. They have the longest
current Western Conference drought without winning a playoff series (13 seasons and
counting) and are giving little indication that it’s about to end. Enthusiasm for new coach
Terry Stotts’ up-tempo, move-the-ball offense is leaking like air from a flat tire.

All of which quickly brings up the question of what to do with LaMarcus Aldridge?

The Blazers official stance is: nothing. That’s what general manager Neil Olshey told
Aldridge in an October meeting, asking for patience and promising that the power
forward would not be traded.